[jsalcedo]

Mexican Myth or Texas Terror?

by Holly Fenner
Is a local Texas television station desperate for ratings or is there something behind the legend of the Chupacabra?

A recent home video of an unidentified animal has Texas residents again pointing fingers at the famed Mexican folklore creature. WOAI Channel 4 in San Antonio broadcast the sighting in June. Watch the WOAI news story. This isn't the first or even second time this suspected "blood-sucking thing from beyond" has claimed fame in the Lonestar State.

WOAI Channel 4 first broadcast the discovery of the Texas Chupacabra in July 2004. A rancher in Elmendorf shot and killed the creature after it attacked his chickens. The animal was hairless, except for a strip going down its back, with blue-grey skin, a long, rat-like tail, a serious overbite with large canine teeth, and appeared to be suffering from mange, a chronic skin disease of mammals cause by parasitic mites and characterized by skin lesions and loss of hair.

Several months later in October, another animal resembling the "Elmendorf Beast" was shot and killed and several sightings were reported in Lufkin stirring another wave of WOAI Channel 4 chupacabra broadcasts. Check out a photo of this alleged Texas Chupacabra.

Honestly, are people buying this?

Before its latest northern migration, alleged attacks of the Chupacabra, or "the Goat Sucker," first appeared in the 1960s in Mexico and Puerto Rico. An impressive series of attacks plagued the Mexican livestock in the 1990s and the Chupacabra was termed "the single most notable cryptozoological phenomenon of the past decade" by America's leading cryptozoologist Loren Coleman.

The beast preyed on livestock, usually goats and chickens, and killed the animals vampire-style, draining the blood completely through the animal's neck and leaving the meat intact. Consequently, there is some controversy surrounding the idea that the Chupacabra attacks humans. A homeowner caught a glimpse of the creature after the Chupacabra allegedly broke into the house through a window, tore apart a child's Teddy bear, and left a pile of slime and a piece of rotten meat on the windowsill. One woman claimed she was attacked by a beast with horns and wings. From the bite marks on her neck she believed the beast was a Chupacabra. Another physical attack was reported in Guanica, Puerto Rico. Osvaldo Claudio Rosado claimed he was grabbed from behind by a gorilla. He was later treated for cuts and scratches on his torso. What makes this attack so mysterious is that Puerto Rico doesn't have gorillas.

Though eyewitness accounts vary, the Mexican Chupacabra towers at a ferocious 3 to 5 feet, with bulging, red eyes, a snake-like tongue, gray skin, long, spinal quills, and a sulfur-like stench. The Chupacabra also boasts multiple talents such as the ability to fly or bound like a kangaroo. Check out a rendering of the fabled Mexican Chupacabra here.

Clearly, the descriptions for the cross-cultural bloodsucker don't add up, but who's to say that evolution doesn't work at top speed. Still, the Texas Chupacabra phenomenon has sparked an intense debate among scientists, zoologists, and residents. Though DNA tests were run on the "Elmendorf Beast", the rancher won't release the results because he was not satisfied and wants a second opinion. He's absolutely right, a folklore creature bound for infamy is much more intriguing than any sensible answer, and the six o'clock news would not get nearly as much attention.

So whether it's a dog having a bad hair day, a mangy coyote, a Muntjac deer, or the legendary Chupacabra, watch your goat's back and stay tuned to your local Texas news source.

[HighVelocity]

Here are some shots of the "Elmendorf Beast" that the farmer refuses to release dna results of.

http://www.hufos.net/images/Texas_Chupacabra.jpg
http://desperatetimes.org/images/chupacabra.jpg

As far as what guns to use on them. Rent the movie or read the book. :neener:

http://www.suncitygirls.com/discography/covers/GunsOfChupa_box.jpg

[Lupinus]

caliber?

Why just toss them a milk bone-

http://www.geocities.com/deadbrokereality/chupacabra.jpg

Edit-
P.S. That thing in the post above me looks like a crackhead kangaroo where the hell did they find it an allyway in some Australian city? lol

[Omni04]

Out of every THR thread i have ever viewed, this is the LAST one i expected somebody to have a humorous photo of. Please tell me that you created that just a moment ago... ;)

[rick_reno]

Given the origin of that thing, can it mow lawns or clean pools?

[mustanger98]

In my opinion, the Elmendorf animal appears to be a coyote with a bad case of the mange.:scrutiny:

[mosttoyswins]

I am born and raised in San Antonio and the Chupacabras are REAL!

I keep 6 silver garlic coated bullets dipped in holy water in my Ruger GP100 that has an engraved cross on the barrel with a wooden stake for a bayonet for the Chupacabra's in my neighborhood.

This is a TRUE story!!! Chupacabras are REAL!!!!

You can't be too careful!:D

[wolf_from_wv]

"You guys are going to need something that packs more of a punch than that 30-30. Here, just take my Model 70... It's 375 H and H mag..."

[Matthew748]

I don't think anything special is required here. .30.06 should do it.

[Double Naught Spy]

I have seen the footage of supposed Chupacabras including the one supposedly shot and then buried, later to be exhumed on video. It was a canid, pure and simple. I seem to recall a supposed vet expert claiming not to recognize the animal. What a crock!

One thing is certain, 30 lb canid-like Chupacabras won't be taking down people and cattle, but chickens, goats, sheep, etc. could suffer.

For a mythical beast, you need to shoot a mythical gun in a mythical caliber. For chupacabra, you obviously need the eleventy-four caliber Aguila Diablo. They are known to be highly effective, usually a 12 shot stop or less. Lucky for you the chamber holds 23 rounds, but is not considered an assault rifle.

[GunnySkox]

Pish! Double-Naught, you've been hittin' the Spy-Pipe a little too much lately, methinks.

REAL men use i-caliber in a necked down thirty-twelve-ought-eleventy-five case. It'll move a square-root-of-negative-one grain bullet at nine hojillion feet per second. Plus, it's completely safe, because with the Schrodinger's chamber, the gun is both loaded and unloaded at once until you pull the trigger, preventing improbable discharges!
~GnSx
What?

[Strings]

Actually, kinda funny you should ask. One of the supposed sightings of the critter involved someone (a farmer, I believe) south of the border shooting one with a .308, SEEING the puff of dust from the hit, and watching it carry on off into the night...

Personally, when talking cryptozoology, I want a tricked out Garand. Underslung tranq gun, with a light on one side of the barrel and a wireless video camera on the other...

[nfl1990]

Sound like a jack-o-lope to me.

From the looks of the one shot in Elmadorf even a .22 would work if you are smart about it.

[4v50 Gary]

12 Ga. loaded with buckshot. BTW, is this why so many folks here have those extended magazine short (18"-20") barrel shotguns? I've seen a photo on the net of some ugly critter. The Central American holding him had only the head. It was UGLY and sure didn't look like a canine to me.

[Sistema1927]

Any caliber will do, just so long as it is a Silvertip.

[mr.trooper]

One of the supposed sightings of the critter involved someone (a farmer, I believe) south of the border shooting one with a .308, SEEING the puff of dust from the hit, and watching it carry on off into the night...

Yes. Poorly placed Full Metal Jacket will do that.

Even if this pittifull animal IS the source of the Chupacabras myth, its not very...big. Its about the size of a small poodle...Or a Big house cat.

22 Hornet should do it.

[Phyphor]

Pish! Double-Naught, you've been hittin' the Spy-Pipe a little too much lately, methinks.

REAL men use i-caliber in a necked down thirty-twelve-ought-eleventy-five case. It'll move a square-root-of-negative-one grain bullet at nine hojillion feet per second. Plus, it's completely safe, because with the Schrodinger's chamber, the gun is both loaded and unloaded at once until you pull the trigger, preventing improbable discharges!
~GnSx
What?

You guys clearly don't read enough John Ringo. Tsk-Tsk.. I'd say a SHE-VA, with added metal storm turrets might possibly result in a satisfying 3-400 shot stop.....

[Strings]

>You guys clearly don't read enough John Ringo. Tsk-Tsk.. I'd say a SHE-VA, with added metal storm turrets might possibly result in a satisfying 3-400 shot stop.....<

KA-CLICK!!!!!!!:neener:

[Standing Wolf]

That critter looks a lot like Mrs. Snopes Clinton before she put on the weight.

[grampster]

Lawdog has some residents of his county that are in the know about this critter and ever able to handle same.

El Tejon is our own celebrated slayer of the Zombie Bear. Chupawhatever are childs play to him.

[mustanger98]

Forget the guns, guys, I'd just run over it with the "assault dually".

For those who don't know, an assault dually is anybody pick between Ford, Chevy, and Dodge, 4x4, armor plated, bulletproof glass, and engine souped up mean. Carries a Ma Duce mounted on the flatbed and all the linked ammo that'll fit back there, and/or two M1919's on pintle mounts (one on each side of the bed). Also carries a complement of small arms and ammo behind the seat.

If the monster du jour survives impact, it won't survive the Ma Duce.

[Phyphor]

>You guys clearly don't read enough John Ringo. Tsk-Tsk.. I'd say a SHE-VA, with added metal storm turrets might possibly result in a satisfying 3-400 shot stop.....<

KA-CLICK!!!!!!!:neener:


(paraphrased) "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the death, I shall fear no Chupacabra, for I am the baddest motherf*cker in the valley!"

[HankB]

Awww, come on, folks, there's nothing unnatural about chupacabras. You know how dogs and cats can go feral? Well, chupacabras are just the former pets of the local Sasquatch population that are running around loose . . . :rolleyes:

[sm]

Ain't much a person can't plugs
With a pick'em truck, Q Beam
Shotgun loaded with slugs...

Okay folks. I gotta ask if we can shorten this things name to "Chup".

I mean I can type, spell and pronounce stuff like "mutant", "zombie", "bear", "puma's" and even "Hillary".

This thing - Chupacabras is right difficult for a publik skooled boy from Arkansaw to type [thank goodness for cut and paste] but pronouncing this thing's name...

Sounds like something you either get shots for after getting into something you shouldn't - or the name of a training bra French Girls get...

[outofbattery]

According to the movie that was on SciFi last week,you can shoot it with 5.56 as much as you'd like and not hurt it ( I believe Jeff Cooper was the firearms consultant for the flick) and it'll snuff out an entire team of SEALS and half a cruise ship.You can set a trap with a hot blonde but apparently it works best if she bounces her boobs around as much as possible but your best hope is to get him in the neck with a dart full of secret serum.


Just passing along what I seen on thuh teevee:D

[Dr.Rob]

.223... don't take much gun to put down a rabid poodle.

[nfl1990]

.223... don't take much gun to put down a rabid poodle.

Well it IS a varmiting round, and this here, does qualify as a varmit.

[Chupacabra]

Okay, this thread is scarring me. :uhoh:

:D

[QuarterBoreGunner]

Scaring or scarring?

[chopinbloc]

american 180.

i'm guessing they're fast and you don't know if they move in packs.

and a rolled up newspaper.

[Dain Bramage]

That gun from THE MEXICAN, which, I believe is called The Mexican.

Preferably with silver bullets, and holy water in the hollow point cavity. :what:

[Double Naught Spy]

Pish! Double-Naught, you've been hittin' the Spy-Pipe a little too much lately, methinks.

REAL men use i-caliber in a necked down thirty-twelve-ought-eleventy-five case. It'll move a square-root-of-negative-one grain bullet at nine hojillion feet per second. Plus, it's completely safe, because with the Schrodinger's chamber, the gun is both loaded and unloaded at once until you pull the trigger, preventing improbable discharges!
~GnSx
What?

Oh man GunnySkox, I have ALWAYS wanted one of those, but never had the money to afford one. Do you have one? Are they as good as claimed?

I was hoping Gun Tests would review one, but apparently Gun Tests only tests what they feel are real guns. So much for their lack of bias!

[BTR]

12 Ga. loaded with buckshot. BTW, is this why so many folks here have those extended magazine short (18"-20") barrel shotguns? I've seen a photo on the net of some ugly critter. The Central American holding him had only the head. It was UGLY and sure didn't look like a canine to me.

http://snopes.com/photos/gruesome/chupacabra.asp#photo

[loose cannon]

well in all suriusness they fly so,,,,id go with a zsu23-4 23mm high speed aaa.
or if you hav a life and want to go to bed and keep your chickens safe,,,

mount a goalkeeper 30mm ciws set on auto to fire at anything bigger than a chicken and have lockouts so your out buildings dont get perforated.hav it set up to be turned on/off by remote control so you dont get perforated.

tell your friends and relatives to CALL before they come over.:uhoh:

[Working Man]

Doesn't "Chupacabra" mean goat molester?

[GEM]

I went hunting with a friend's son and as we hiked across the land near Rock Springs I filled him in on the beast and he was scared the rest of the hunt. :D

[HighVelocity]

Doesn't "Chupacabra" mean goat molester?

it means Goat Sucker. Unless you're the Booktastic Bus Driver of course.

[jsalcedo]

Unless you're the Booktastic Bus Driver of course

That sounds like a South Park reference

[Lupinus]

well goat sucker could bring images to the more sick minded lol

And I say 50 cal....chupacabra alla pile of goo

[thereisnospoon]

Here's what I would use...



http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8275

[biere]

For those interested in some amusing reading a search will turn up past threads with similar topics.

After researching the past recomendations of what to carry in yeti and sasquatch territory I think I am going to have to pick one gun to do it all and luckily ruger makes something that is barely adequate.

1 more ruger alaskan please.

But that is only for defense.

For hunting it, just get out the 458 lott rifle everyone has for their intended dangerous game hunt.

[GunnySkox]

Actually, I think the chubacabra are too dangerous to handle with small arms.

I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit.

It's the only way to be sure.

~GnSx
Use Enough Ortillery.

[kframe357]

BFR .45-70. yeah buddy

[Borachon]

Whoa! Phased plasma rifle in a 20-Watt range. I've been meaning to get one of those ever since the 80's.

Nice purchase!
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30965&d=1131485671

[Double Naught Spy]

It is an old thread, but there is new news. Sure enough, at least one of the reported Texas Chupacabras is a canid, a coyote, in fact...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/odd_mythical_chupacabra;_ylt=AmcnHgmxCeXoeDnBv0UbP.UE1vAI

SAN MARCOS, Texas - The results are in: The ugly, big-eared animal found this summer in southern Texas is not the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. It's just a plain old coyote.

Biologists at Texas State University announced Thursday night they had identified the hairless doglike creature.

KENS-TV of San Antonio provided a tissue sample from the animal for testing.

"The DNA sequence is a virtually identical match to DNA from the coyote," biologist Mike Forstner said in a statement. "This is probably the answer a lot of folks thought might be the outcome. I, myself, really thought it was a domestic dog, but the Cuero Chupacabra is a Texas Coyote."

Phylis Canion and some of her neighbors discovered the 40-pound bodies of three of the animals over four days in July outside her ranch in Cuero, 90 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Canion said she saved the head of the one she found so she could get to the bottom of its ancestry through DNA testing and then mount it for posterity.

Chupacabra means "goat sucker" in Spanish, and it is said to have originated in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

Additional skin samples have been taken to try to determine the cause of the animal's hair loss, Forstner said.

[bluestarlizzard]

"Additional skin samples have been taken to try to determine the cause of the animal's hair loss, Forstner said."

demidictic mange (duhhh) or fleas and an allergy.

[protolith]

When hunting mythical beasts, you should go for calibers named after mythical creatures....

6.5 mm Grendel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6.5_Grendel

or .50 Beowulf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_Beowulf

"Grendel is feared by all but Beowulf"

[ClickClickD'oh]

Just what I would want for an necessity of extreame portable firepower... A Callahan full-bore auto-lock, customized trigger, double-cartridge thorough gauge

[bluestarlizzard]

clickclickd'oh, that the signiture not the segestion. besides i think the only gun that could (barley) penitrat sernitys hull would be a bit of overkill on a mangy poodle.

[Strings]

>besides i think the only gun that could (barley) penitrat sernitys hull would be a bit of overkill on a mangy poodle.<

So... you're saying that the right gun would be an AR? ;)

[lance22]

The only confirmed kill of a chupacabra is from a car. The first main photo in this thread is a photo of a chupacabra killed by a car.

Only a car can kill a chupacabra.

[KiltedClaymore]

Sounds like something you either get shots for after getting into something you shouldn't - or the name of a training bra French Girls get...

what kind of freaky french girls do you know?! sounds slightly scary! maybe thats why your getting the shot? got into some french ladies chupacabra when you wern't supposed to? :neener:


and the only weapon the chupacabra fears is the 88 magnum

[brerrabbit]

I raise goats. Fun critters.

They can live on some of the most desolate land anywhere, eat dang near anything, beat the heck out of coyotes and dogs. Besides that, they taste good.

And they occasionally fall over dead without any cause.

I think the chupacabra myth was originated to explain why otherwise healthy goats keeled over dead and to explain the wildlife predation on them.

[KiltedClaymore]

only good thing from goats is:cheese. i had afew as pets. messy, noisy, and bad tempered.

[Double Naught Spy]

And they occasionally fall over dead without any cause.

No, if they fall over dead, there is a cause. You may not be able to readily discern it, however.

[sharkhunter2018]

The DNA for the Elmendorf animal was released. It is a Coyote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/ap_on_fe_st/odd_mythical_chupacabra;_ylt=AmBc1wsx9zOTmENelcQ08ObtiBIF

[Loucks]

The only effective choice is a Glock 7. ;)

[Wayne G.]

The DNA for the Elmendorf animal was released. It is a Coyote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/...NelcQ08ObtiBIF
In that case, Road Runner! :evil:
beep-beep

Thread-lock in 5, 4, 3,........

[Acheron]

I would use a 88mm Flugzeugabwehr Kanone (FlaK) Model 36/L56.

If I can't find one of those, then I'd go with something chambered in the almighty 7.62x54R-probably using some Czech silvertips:D.

[XDKingslayer]

The DNA for the Elmendorf animal was released. It is a Coyote
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071102/...NelcQ08ObtiBIF
__________________

They didn't say it was a coyote. They said it's DNA was "virtually identical" to a coyote.

What exactly is "virtually identical"?

[Timthinker]

Sorry, but I am a skeptic on these "crypto" creatures until someone provides solid evidence to the contrary. Now, if you truly believe such a creature exists, then I recommend a trusty .30-30. This old workhorse should make short work of any mean varmint you encounter in the wild.


Timthinker

[crankshop1000]

The Thompson SMG of course.Chupacabra's are only slightly tougher than Nazis and Koreans.

[camacho]

Listen to Michael Bane's podcast from last week. Has a lot of information on how to dispose of all kinds of blood suckers, and it is quite a hoot.

http://www.downrange.tv/podcast.htm

[Double Naught Spy]

They didn't say it was a coyote. They said it's DNA was "virtually identical" to a coyote.

What exactly is "virtually identical"?

It means there was a minor variance in the sequence that may be due to degradation of the DNA or possibly crossbreeding at some point in the animal's life. While naturally a separate species coyotes (Canis latrans) and wolves (Canis lupus) can interbreed with one another and with domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) that are derived from wolves. They all have 78 chromosomes and have been cross bred in captivity. Apparently, it does happen very infrequently in the wild.

So the DNA put the animal into the Canis genus and within that genus, it was a near perfect match for coyote. So any way you cut it, it is a dog of some sort and is almost definitely coyote .

[frankcostanza]

how about one of these

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=314172

[Kaeto]

To take out a Chupacabra I'll use Unit LNE of the Dinocrome Brigade.

[mustanger98]

If it's anything like a coyote, .30-30Winchester will do fine.:cool: